Hyundai Motor Group wants to expand its range of battery electric vehicles (BEV) from the current eight models to 23 by the year 2025.
It’s part of future growth strategy unveiled by the Group chairman Euisun Chung in a speech outlining the company’s commitments for 2021 and beyond.
“We have to therefore think of 2021 as an inflection point for shaping our future growth and prepare ourselves to become the first mover in a new era,” Chung says.
He says the Groups vision is to become a top-tier global eco-friendly brand.
“With the launch of new vehicles based on the recently released electric vehicle platform, the E-GMP (Electric-Global Modular Platform), we plan to provide attractive eco-friendly mobility options that aptly reflect customers’ diverse tastes and needs at more reasonable prices,” Chung says.
“Furthermore, our hydrogen fuel cell technology, will be expanded to diverse mobility and industrial sectors to help achieve carbon neutrality under the ‘HTWO (Hydrogen + Humanity)’ brand,” he says.
This year Hyundai Motor Group is launching dedicated electric vehicles built on the E-GMP, including Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5, Kia’s crossover electric vehicle and Genesis luxury brand’s crossover electric vehicles.
The E-GMP offers a multi-charging system allowing both the 800V and 400V charging capabilities. The system is the world’s first patented technology which operates the motor and inverter to boost 400V to 800V for a stable charging compatibility.
A battery electric vehicle based on the E-GMP is capable of a maximum range of over 500 kilometres with a fully charged battery (WLTP standard) and it can high-speed charge up to 80% in just 18 minutes and can add up to 100 kilometres of driving range in just five minutes.
The Group plans to expand its battery electric vehicle line-up from the current eight models to 23 by 2025 and sell 1 million units annually in global markets.
It will set up 20 high-speed charging stations in Korea by 2021 and will further expand its charging network in cooperation with energy companies. Overseas, the Group plans to have EV charging infrastructure optimised for market-specific environments with various partners.
Moreover, the Group will accelerate the creation of a hydrogen energy ecosystem. It will expand the supply of hydrogen fuel cell systems with the world’s best technology as power sources for ships, generators, and trains as well as global automakers. The Group recently introduced a dedicated HTWO brand for fuel cell systems as part of such efforts.
It will also focus on developing next-generation hydrogen fuel cell systems that will be applied to future eco-friendly mobility solutions such as Urban Air Mobility (UAM).
“We will realise the safest and most innovative mobility technology in the world by strengthening our autonomous driving, connectivity and software capabilities. We will continue to invest in new growth fields such as urban air mobility (UAM) and robotics to expand the realm of new mobility in the near future,” Chung says.
The Group will apply Level 3 autonomous driving technology to mass production models in 2022 and push for commercialisation projects for autonomous driving technologies such as robo-taxi services in 2023.
Motional Inc., the joint venture between Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, plans to conduct Level 4 driverless tests on public roads in Nevada, U.S. In 2023, the company will work with US car-sharing provider Lyft to launch autonomous driving commercialisation services in major U.S. regions.
The Group will also focus on core technologies for next-generation software such as vehicle software that closely interacts with vehicle driving assistance, precision map-linked navigation, and various connected and infotainment services to provide the best convenience and safety to customers.
It aims to introduce Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for cargo with hybrid powertrains in 2026, and a fully electrified UAM model optimised for urban operations in 2028, and regional air mobility products connecting adjacent cities in the 2030s.
In the robotics area, the Group is acquiring the controlling stake in Boston Dynamics to respond to global mega trends of aging society and digital transformation as the Group seeks to provide humanity with a higher level of experience and more value.
The Group’s wearable robot technology and its industrial and logistics automation technology are expected to maximize synergies with Boston Dynamics’ innovative capabilities. Robotics technology will also be applied to various mobility areas such as autonomous driving, UAM, and PBV (Purpose Built Vehicle) to help it establish a leading position.
“We will rationalise the Group’s business portfolio, and lay the foundation for sustainable growth by continuously discovering new growth engines that would meet the industry’s paradigm shift,” Chung says.
